Cino needs riders!

[AngryScientist]

This just dropped in my mailbox:

I'm signed up and looking forward to it this year. Consider going!

Hello Cino Riders,

We hope this finds you well and enjoy some spring pedaling.

We are just over two months out from Cino 2023 and the planning team is getting things locked into place. We currently have 35 registered riders and need 20 more (by June 16) to make the ride happen. Sadly, nobody has registered in quite a while, so we're hoping you can help us out.

As our best cheerleaders and ambassadors, please spread the word near and far on social media, your local bike shop, or just shout in the streets as you ride! I have attached a PDF poster - feel free to print it out and post it in your local bike shop. If you'd like us to send you an actual paper copy, just reply to this email with your request and we'll get one (or several) in the mail to you.

Here is our website link: https://www.kalispellmontessori.com/cino.

As always, let us know if you have any questions. An update on Cino jerseys coming soon!

With gratitude,
Team Cino

[jamesdak]

This is a goal for next year for me. Hopefully by then they'll have replaced the second knee ( I hope) and I'll be back up to speed again.

[NHAero]

Jeez stuff is far apart out there! I have good friends in Bozeman, and that's 300 miles away!
This is at the same time as our family hiking vacation, but I'm going to try to make it next year.
Angry, what bike, and what's your low gear? I could do this on my Bob Jackson, but not with the Nuovo Record stuff. I think low is 42-24. Would keep it as a triple but convert back to the 3x9 with barcons. Would 700x32s work?

[NHAero]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

This is a goal for next year for me. Hopefully by then they'll have replaced the second knee ( I hope) and I'll be back up to speed again.

Let's do it!

[nighthawk]

Shoot, that actually looks like fun and I have family in Polson. Not in the cards this year, but will put on my radar for next.

Couldn’t find it on the site at the link you posted, so what is the overnight stop? Camping along the way? There’s
mention of hotsprings and a gear shuttle, but not the sleeping arrangements.

[David Kirk]

Originally Posted by NHAero

Jeez stuff is far apart out there! I have good friends in Bozeman, and that's 300 miles away!
This is at the same time as our family hiking vacation, but I'm going to try to make it next year.
Angry, what bike, and what's your low gear? I could do this on my Bob Jackson, but not with the Nuovo Record stuff. I think low is 42-24. Would keep it as a triple but convert back to the 3x9 with barcons. Would 700x32s work?

I use 32 mm tires on old school narrow rims and that is fine. If I had room for more rubber I'd take it but it works fine for me.

I'm using a 38/26 low gear. The climb on day two is the challenging one and I use every inch of that gear and I'm not spinning it.

It's worth the trip. The roads are spectacular and the food is the real deal.

dave

[David Kirk]

Originally Posted by nighthawk

Shoot, that actually looks like fun and I have family in Polson. Not in the cards this year, but will put on my radar for next.

Couldn’t find it on the site at the link you posted, so what is the overnight stop? Camping along the way? There’s
mention of hotsprings and a gear shuttle, but not the sleeping arrangements.

Day one ends at the Alamedas Hot Springs in Hot Springs, MT. Most people stay there (you can get a room of camp on the grounds) but there's another place (Symes Hot Springs) just a stone's throw away. The organizers will carry a bag for you to Alamedas so that you can ride light.

The festivities/meals are all at Alamedas. It's a funky time capsule of a place and lots of fun.

Day 2 rolls out of Alamedas and takes a different route back to the school where you started on day 1 and while it's a shorter day it's harder with a long steep climb in the middle of the ride.

dave

[mhespenheide]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

We currently have 35 registered riders and need 20 more (by June 16) to make the ride happen.

I've heard very good things about this ride from folks over on the C&V forum. Highly recommended. I'm trying to see if I could make it work, myself.

If anyone tall in the PNW needs a candidate frame (and parts?) to build up something appropriate, hit me up. I've got a few candidates.

[choke]

Originally Posted by NHAero

Would 700x32s work?

I've done it twice on tires that measured 26mm and while they wouldn't be my first choice they worked just fine.

Traditionally the 'Bacon Lady' is at the first rest stop



Real food at lunch.

[rccardr]

HIGHLY recommended ride! Excellent organizational support and whatever profit they make supports the local Montesori school. Probably the BEST, most FUN ride you will ever attend. Then you’ll brag about it to your riding buddies.

I’ve done this on 6X2 Super Record with a 34/30 low gear but aside from the big climb on Day 2 most folks can deal with this using pretty normal road gearing. If I was taking the Canyon with 36/32 gearing I would not be concerned. Big-ish tires help (32’s) as some of the gravel can be a bit rough, but most attendees don’t build a specific bike for the event.

This is NOT Eroica, not a re-enactment, simply a fun ride in the woods over hill and dale with a bunch of great people.

[rice rocket]

Seems like they have a marketing problem?

The Last Best Ride, a week later and 10 miles north, has nearly 700 signups.

[nighthawk]

Originally Posted by David Kirk

Day one ends at the Alamedas Hot Springs in Hot Springs, MT. Most people stay there (you can get a room of camp on the grounds) but there's another place (Symes Hot Springs) just a stone's throw away. The organizers will carry a bag for you to Alamedas so that you can ride light.

The festivities/meals are all at Alamedas. It's a funky time capsule of a place and lots of fun.

Day 2 rolls out of Alamedas and takes a different route back to the school where you started on day 1 and while it's a shorter day it's harder with a long steep climb in the middle of the ride.

dave

Thanks for the clarification, Dave. That really does sound like a fun ride. Will definitely keep it in mind for next year. Hopefully they can secure enough riders to make it worthwhile this year.

And agree with Rice Rocket that they seem to be under marketing this. I imagine the kind of ride where there is a sweet spot for attendance. Too many participants and it becomes cumbersome to manage and I assume the hot springs can only accommodate so many people.

[rice rocket]

Originally Posted by nighthawk

And agree with Rice Rocket that they seem to be under marketing this. I imagine the kind of ride where there is a sweet spot for attendance. Too many participants and it becomes cumbersome to manage and I assume the hot springs can only accommodate so many people.

I didn't realize this was a vintage bike event until NHAero posted his thread about which bike he could use, that greatly limits your audience.

Probably a little gatekeeper-ish if your goal is actually to raise money for your school.

[choke]

Originally Posted by nighthawk

And agree with Rice Rocket that they seem to be under marketing this. I imagine the kind of ride where there is a sweet spot for attendance. Too many participants and it becomes cumbersome to manage and I assume the hot springs can only accommodate so many people.

The ride is limited to 150 riders, though I think it's rare that it actually sells out. You're correct that the number of people that Hot Springs can handle is a big factor, but also support along the route comes in to play.

Originally Posted by rice rocket

I didn't realize this was a vintage bike event until NHAero posted his thread about which bike he could use, that greatly limits your audience.

Probably a little gatekeeper-ish if your goal is actually to raise money for your school.

It started as a ride amongst friends and has evolved along the way, so it was never designed as a fund raiser from the start.

[David Kirk]

For many years Cino had well over 100 riders and that was back when it was held in early September. September had perfect weather...cool mornings and warm, but not hot, afternoons and generally dry.

But...with climate change we are seeing more wild fires in the mountain west and with them comes smoke. Lots of smoke. So they moved the ride into July in the hopes that it lessens the chance of wildfire smoke and it seems to be working. The problem is that during high summer there are just so many other things happening and it's harder for someone to spend time away from their families to travel to Montana and ride vintage bikes for a few days. I think this is the reason we are seeing the lower numbers. The first year I did Cino it was in September and we had about 120 riders and it was about right given the event. If there were 200 plus riders I wouldn't go.

I hope people come and enjoy and support the event before it goes away. I suspect that if there's not enough to make it work this year that there might not be a next year. I have zero inside info on this - just my hunch.

I hope to see you there.

dave